V V Story

VedaVox was built by people who have learned to love mathematics despite sometimes struggling with its concepts and applications.

Founded in 2014, and launched in January 2017, with the belief that anyone can understand mathematics if its taught to their strengths and builds at their pace, our goal is to address the ever-growing issues in mathematics engagement. This means addressing not just mathematics skills and focusing on building just those but also on changing math attitudes.

This means speaking directly to those who study mathematics and apply it in their daily lives and turning them into a brand new kind of celebrity role model that we can look to for inspiration.

And what better timing then to launch as part of Canada’s 150th anniversary. Mathematics is the foundation of innovation and inspiration, and what a better way to celebrate that then to be a part of inspiring the next generation of mathematicians and innovators to bring our country into the next 150 years!

Founder and CEO – Pamela M. Brittain:

Ever since I was a kid I had a love of math, not because I was good or gifted at it, but because it taught me to see the world through a different set of eyes.

I studied Chemistry and Mathematics in my undergraduate degree and then received my degree in education and became a certified teacher in Ontario.

In 2004 I started down a path in education management and program development working in tutoring centres and adult education retraining programs.

Then, in 2008, I was hired by the University of Toronto’s Engineering Outreach programs where I developed Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) curriculum. Two years later I started a position in the Department of Mathematics that truly changed my view on the world.

Through the mathematics department I was shown a world I had never dreamed existed. I met researchers from around the world who were studying mathematics for mathematics sake. What amazed me the most was that these were women and men who were nothing like what I thought a mathematician would be. There were some crazy haircuts and rooms full of blackboards but there were also young researchers who worked on cutting edge innovations and developing algorithms and computer programs to solve fascinating mysteries.

I was given the amazing opportunity to take some of this research and showcase it to the world around me through in-person camps, competitions, school visits and more; all aimed at pre-university students in the Toronto area.

I loved what I was doing, but something was missing. Everywhere I went I still heard people talk about how they hated math, how math was useless, how only ‘smart people’ could do math and that the only math out there was for those that were either struggling or failing (such as tutoring) or for those that were already gifted. In addition, the programs I was involved in, while amazing, were limited to those that could attend them in person. I realized we were missing an entire population who didn’t have access to a University in their backyard, or who didn’t have the time to physically go to a pre-determined place and time each week for classes.

So that’s why, in January 2017, I decided to take the leap and tackle this problem head on, with the widest reach I could possibly think of: online courses.

I decided to focus these courses on bringing these amazing contacts I had made, these incredible, fascinating (and relatively unknown to the general public) researchers in the world of mathematics and mathematics researchers, to a much wider audience.

And so VedaVox was born. A portal into the world on mathematics, mathematics researchers and their research.

We hope you will come join us on this fascinating and eye-opening journey!